Innehållsförteckning för April 2024 från FourFourTwo UK

When FourFourTwo told Trent Alexander-Arnold that he was only the third full-back ever to become the main cover star for our magazine, after Stuart Pearce and Paolo Maldini, he looked surprised. During the three decades since FFT first launched, attacking players have often grabbed the attention – and the covers. But times are changing – in this issue, we celebrate the best full-backs that football has produced. We’ve chosen our own number one (find out who from page 42), and while we were in the company of one of the best in the world right now, we couldn’t pass up the chance to ask his opinion. Put on the spot, Trent opted for Roberto Carlos. What was abundantly clear from the time that FFT spent with Alexander-Arnold was that he wants to be considered…

“IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST NIGHTS IN LEEDS HISTORY. I GET GOOSEBUMPS WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT GAME” Leeds 3-0 Deportivo April 4, 2001 Champions League quarter-final “What naturally stands out from that game is the free-kick I scored [above]. I hit the ball as hard as I could and it flew in off the crossbar. Not only that, we won 3-0 and it was probably one of the best nights in Leeds United history. Whenever I took free-kicks, I imagined lines on a motorway and tried to strike the ball within those. I always used to visualise where I wanted to place my free-kicks, which I’d combine with my technique. Though we went on to lose the second leg in Spain 2-0, thankfully that didn’t matter because we’d…

​​01 Who was the last Italian manager to win the Premier League title? 02 In which German city would you find the magnificent Veltins-Arena (right), set to host Euro 2024 fixtures? 03 Which legendary former Premier League attacker is nicknamed ‘the Ice Man’ and ‘the non-flying Dutchman’? 04 Who has coached Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the France Women side at World Cups? 05 Who are the only English team to have become female European champions? 06 Sven-Goran Eriksson, Ian Holloway and Gary Megson have all managed which Football League club? 07 Aside from Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic, which Scottish outfit have played the most seasons in the top flight? 08 Which Italian behemoths are known as the Biancocelesti? 09 Who was the last English footballer to…

30 JOSIMAR Selected in FIFA’s 1986 World Cup All-Star Team, Brazilian right-back Josimar only won 16 caps, yet established himself among the planet’s premier right-backs during the ’80s. Incredibly, he made his debut in Mexico and scored in each of his first two internationals. CAREER HIGHLIGHT Doing what apparently comes naturally for Brazilian full-backs and bagging a belter at the World Cup – against Northern Ireland great Pat Jennings, no less. 29 ERIC ABIDAL A league winner in France, Spain and Greece (of course), in addition to starting the 2006 World Cup Final, Abidal had a stunning career. He needed surgery on a liver tumour in 2011, yet won the Champions League two months later with Barcelona. After a transplant, he still managed to return to first-team action. CAREER HIGHLIGHT…

PATH A WITHOUT BALE AROUND TO FINISH, CAN WALES DEFEAT THE, ER, FINNISH? WALES VS FINLAND A CROATIA REPEAT AND CARDIFF WILL SURELY LUXURIATE IN MORE PLAY-OFF JUBILATION “They’re not a good side. You’ve seen two poor sides trying to contest this group – neither has a glimmer of hope qualifying.” The last time Wales hosted Finland in a qualifying match for a major tournament, Craig Bellamy didn’t pull his punches. The visitors triumphed 2-0 over John Toshack’s charges at a sparsely populated Millennium Stadium in March 2009, and the bristling Welsh skipper was spot on – neither nation came close to reaching the 2010 World Cup. Fifteen years ago, these two countries had just one major tournament outing between them – the Dragons’ foray to the 1958 World Cup…

Is it true you used to play tennis with Andy Murray as a kid? No, though I played against his brother, Jamie. Andy was a few years younger than me so we never faced each other, but we’d often be at the same youth tournaments. I remember seeing him play when he was about nine and he was already super talented. I wasn’t quite as gifted but I tried hard. I opted for football instead and, thankfully, it turned out to be a pretty good choice. You joined Celtic as a teenager and played a part as the Bhoys reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. What are your memories? Scottish football was in a great place in the early 2000s. I remember Henrik Larsson and John Hartson both being injured…

Few footballers can say that they played their last ever match in a World Cup final, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst is one of them. The Dutchman earned that honour in 2010 after scoring the most famous goal of his career just four days earlier, firing home sensationally from 30 yards in a semi-final victory over Uruguay. As Oranje captain, he wanted to bid farewell by lifting the famous trophy on his 106th and last appearance for his country. But, as with France skipper Zinedine Zidane four years prior, it ultimately ended in defeat – though thankfully without any headbutts. After a fine playing career in which Van Bronckhorst won the Champions League with Barcelona and the Premier League at Arsenal, he transitioned into management with two of his old clubs…

Barcelona supporters warmly greet the trickle of Girona fans going into the away section at the Camp Nou. It’s a nondescript Monday in April 2023, and among the travelling few are couples like Xavi Bautista and wife Monica, wearing the scarves of each club. Xavi is a lifelong Girona fan from the days when they had three-figure crowds for home games, while Monica supports Barça. They’re simply happy to be there, for Xavi to see Girona, whom he once watched play fifth-tier football, in the same league as Barcelona. It’s the only game of the season classed as so low risk that away fans are allowed to wear their club shirts in home sections. The two clubs have never been rivals, since they’ve barely played each other. Girona, 62 miles…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has something to show us. He opens his phone. No, the code isn’t 260599. Heading straight to his photos app, he asks us “2019?” and proceeds to scroll back through the pictures. Most from recent years are of his family. Smiling faces of his three children in smiley places – hot and cold. He’s at stadiums in Milan, Naples and Dortmund. There are pictures of mountains, water and ice in Norway. The former Manchester United player and manager learned to sail before he turned 50 last year, coaches his son’s junior football team and, unlike the previous quarter of a century, lives a quiet life in his hometown of Kristiansund on Norway’s stunning Atlantic coast. “March 2019?” he asks, and he’s not about to refer to his…

While many clubs count legendary musicians among their fanbases – Ozzy Osbourne follows Aston Villa, Rod Stewart often turns up at Celtic and Mick Hucknall is a Manchester United diehard, to name just three – few can claim their celebrity plays as prominent a role in proceedings as Leeds United’s. That’s because Simon Rix, bassist for local rockers Kaiser Chiefs, also happens to be head of the club’s supporters’ trust. Lifelong fan Rix was asked to take on the honorary position several years ago, but quickly found himself unable to stay away. “I really wanted to get involved – I couldn’t help myself,” Rix recalls to FFT now. “I started joining in with the email threads and message boards, lending a hand on ticketing, fundraising, murals, stewarding and fan safety.…

With Manchester United’s football operations now overseen by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos, and masterminded by former British Cycling director Sir Dave Brailsford, football fans are debating whether the Red Devils are about to get back on track… or if the wheels are going to fall off completely. Those curious as to how an expert from a different sport will fare in football need look back only as far as 2005 for their answer – to an era when Rugby World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward was named technical director at Southampton FC. A close personal pal of then-Saints chairman Rupert Lowe, Woodward had been a regular spectator at the second-tier outfit’s Staplewood training ground for a while prior to his July 2005 appointment. The egg-chasing empresario had suffered a disastrous…

Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ defender on rooming with Pep, learning from Cruyff and facing reality checks at Chelsea… Describe learning to play at La Masia. It imprints a coherent philosophy about the positional game through constant repetition in training, which develops the understanding of those triangles that stitch it all together. Then, if you make it to the first team, you’ve got the clearest possible idea of how to play. What role did Johan Cruyff play in your development as a footballer? He was my salvation. I did pre-season with the first team in 1989, then in January he said, “I want you to go on loan. Tenerife are interested. You’ll play six months in La Liga, then come back and be in the first team.” Tenerife were fighting relegation so…

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME NATIONAL HEROES ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST Hosts Ivory Coast won AFCON despite losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea, finishing third in their group, then changing the coach mid-tournament – after such a triumph, little wonder that the parade went a bit bonkers. The maddest tournament win ever? Photo Sia Kambou/PA/Getty TRUCKING HELL ROSTOCK, GERMANY A word of warning: never upset German football supporters. The DFL did just that with a proposal to flog Bundesliga TV rights to private equity investors, which sparked protests at a range of matches – one involving a pitch invasion by two remote control monster trucks carrying smoke bombs. The people said ‘Nein!’ Photo Joern Pollex/Getty RED SKY AT NIGHT, LUTON DELIGHT LUTON, ENGLAND There are few more remarkable sights in the world than Luton at sunset,…

When Bursaspor moved into the Timsah Arena in 2016, they hoped their crocodile stadium would lead them back to the summit of Turkish football – and host Euro 2024 this year. The 44,000-capacity venue was part of Turkey’s bid to host the Euros and quickly gained fame because of its croc design, to match Bursaspor’s nickname of the Green Crocodiles. The future looked bright for a club who were Turkish champs as recently as 2010 – taking on Manchester United and Rangers in the Champions League later that year, before recruiting, er, Scott Carson, Kenny Miller and Anton Ferdinand. Turkey lost out to Germany in their Euros bid though, and their new stadium has been about as intimidating as a baby crocodile with its mouth taped up. Once European regulars,…

“CAN I SAY THIS?” Sean Longstaff is speaking to FourFourTwo at Newcastle United’s training centre, and has realised mid-conversation that he’s applying the same honesty and commitment to this chat as he would to a match in the Premier League or Champions League. It’s like he only knows one mode: zeal. As the 26-year-old homegrown midfielder talks frankly about his first-team journey at St James’ Park, via Rafa Benitez, Steve Bruce, Eddie Howe and a heavily-rumoured transfer to Manchester United, he briefly turns to the Newcastle press officer to check that he isn’t overstepping the mark. The journey hasn’t always been easy – he previously suffered from mental health issues, as he candidly discusses – but it has taken the academy product to a point where he has delivered some…

As the old adage goes, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s how well that dog can adapt its fighting style to match all of the other dogs that have more money. To stretch that particular analogy to breaking point, Luton Town’s first ever season in the Premier League has at times been the story of a determined Bichon Frise that’s slowly managed to learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A difficult start was met with no surprise, and the conversations about the size of the challenge facing them were as predictable as the ones about the size of their stadium. A row of houses, yes! And you can see into that lady’s bathroom from the away end! But as the months went on, Luton began to have several…

XI BEST: David McGurn, Laurie Ellis, Mark Campbell, Shaun Dennis, Grant Murray, Paquito Ortiz, Colin Cameron, Regan Hendry, Sam Stanton, Lewis Vaughan, John Baird. WORST: Andrew McNeil, Chris McLeod, Sean Kilgannon, Jack Perry, Ross Perry, Scott Roberts, Jordan Thompson, Willie Lyle, Chris Johnston, Timmy Abraham, John Frederiksen. PLAYER B: Of Rovers’ recent crop, it’s got to be Lewis Vaughan [right]. It’s mad that his story hasn’t attracted more coverage on a wider scale: an ex-youth teamer who suffered four ACL injuries (two in each knee) and has recovered to bang home goals aplenty. W: Ross Perry gets my vote. A former Rangers defender who put in horrific performances. He ended his short-term deal by seeing red inside two minutes. MOMENT B: I’ll give you an exact date: November 27, 1994:…